Back when I was young over forty years ago, I joined a religion that was founded on principles of world peace and doing away with racial and nationalistic prejudices. After several years, I realized that this nice love all humanity movement was already on its way to evolving into another narrow-minded doctrinaire group that would compete and contend with the existing major religions. Not only that, it turned out we were supposed to accept every word of our founders as vitually infallible and to obey the decisions of our local leaders or risk being shunned. So, what was started as a fresh movement to seek truth and overcome hatred and strife in the world was already becoming another addition to the same old story. I concluded that individual inner change had to be the first step to world change -- but how then do political and economic institutions also change enough fast enough before we all blow ourselves up or poison our environment to a point where life forms can no longer exist here?

Listening to some new Eckhart CDs this weekend, I catch some hints as to what the book may be about. He cautions though that we cannot know the outcome or whether it is too late or not. On the positive side personally, I was effortlessly (more or less) able to be more attentive and patient in relation to my husband in recent days during a time when we both have some heavy financial and medical challenges. As the song goes, "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." Also, there was a death in our family a few months ago, and I was experiencing a lot of fear again of the ultimate unknown, but getting in touch with the inner reality -- especially by way of the Gateways to the Now CD -- has almost erased that anxiety. It's a new earth around here at my home this weekend at least!

Hi Gina - Thanks so much for your thoughts. The editor in me wanted to dice it up into paragraphs so it would be easier to read, but it works as it is.

My son is a non-linear left brained thinker. One of the wisest people I know.

It is sychronistic that you wrote what you did because I am just finishing up a book in which one of the running themes is that we are all sisters and brothers (with All Creatures) and everything, especially the land and its bounty, belong to every one, and when I say everyone, I mean all living things not just people. Animals and the People of the First Light, the Massachusett Wampanoags are the characters that convey the message.

I should probably move this to a new topic area since it's not about Eckhart's new book. So, if this conversation continues, you'll find it in Personal Experiences.

I grew up in the Baha'i faith and left at age 24 myself. I think there is a rich spirituality in the history of the faith and many of the writings and teachings, but it has degenerated into rather unpleasant fundamentalist organization, mainly because of the emphasis on an "infallible" leadership under the assemblies and the Universal House of Justice. There has more recently been a witch-hunt to throw out the more spiritually creative individuals and a total emphasis on conformity of belief and doctrinal purity to a deadened, literalist lowest common denominator. Ugh!

I find many of the writings very uplifting and helpful (for example, Seven Valleys, Hidden Words, and most of what I've read by Abdu'l-Baha) but the direction of the "infallible" religious organization has been a spiraling down into the abyss (eg. "unenrolling" Baha'is who question various interpretations of the writings, the insanity of prosecuting Baha'is for perceived sexual immorality while ignoring the revolving-door marriage phenomenon of so many western Baha'is, the odious censorship performed under the rubric of prepublication "review", the mind-numbing lock-step force-feeding of the dogmatic "Ruhi" curriculum to sophisticated and educated communities who find it absurd, and the zealous obsession with the "infallability" of the Universal House of Justice). And, of course, the obsession with dogmatic conformity has resulted in a complete failure of the religion to grow in recent years among educated populations, and indeed even a staggering loss of numbers from those raised in the religion, such as myself.

I haven't studied this, but suspect there is a natural life cycle to religions just as there is in flesh and blood life forms.

When they are young they are fresh, supple, innocent. Then they mature in to some flavor of wisdom. Then they age and become progressively more stiff, obtuse, blowhardish, and finally senile. Then they die, and a new religion is born to take their place.

Some of the world's older religions seem to be getting on in years, and displaying some of these aging symptoms.

Newer religions are springing up to fill the gap. And they too will age in time, become hopelessly burdened with thought and dogma, and then die the natural death that comes to all things.

I find such an outlook useful in keeping all that we are discussing here in perspective. Stepping clear of the "the one true way" disease is one way religions can stay young and healthy, for awhile longer anyway.

Some of the world's older religions seem to be getting on in years, and displaying some of these aging symptoms.

Newer religions are springing up to fill the gap. And they too will age in time, become hopelessly burdened with thought and dogma, and then die the natural death that comes to all things.

Hi Phil,

I too am one of those whose studies in this area is also quite limited but human behavior and the study of society, its inherent habits perceived in the world of form and thought has led many to believe that one absolute which is constant, “is change.” Movement, physical and mental metamorphosis, mutation and transformation in the world of form is believed to be the nature of all things, as we know it. It has reckoned with life and made it’s perceived natural mark through the ages and indorsed by its history for as long as humans have found it necessary.

Will it change, sure! As long as we think, change is inevitable and divisive in the hands of those which dwell in the house of unconscious thought. I’m not saying this cynically, just recognizing it for what it’s been and what it is. Change, conscious change, the transformation of thought to a climate of awareness is the beginning of finding a sense of bliss and peace within.

The piece last night on T.V. produced by National Geographic’s about the ancient finding of scriptures by Judas sheds a new light of Jesus in which he asked Judas in so many words, to betray him to the Romans so his spirit could be released from the body of man he was clothed in. He goes on to say, “The world I come from is beyond thought, the imaginable and it has no name!”

History has it that the disciple Judas was Jesus closest friend, confidant and trusted by him, this is why he confided in him and as the ancient newly found scriptures say in essence, “ generations will revile you but you will come to be “present” in my kingdom.

Gnostics scriptures over 1700 years ago wrote and believed that the death of Jesus released his spirit in which his body was clothed in. It’s kind of amazing that that far back this was known but buried in antiquity and only about four scripture out of about 30 were adopted by the church. Mathew, Mark, Luke and John, were accepted into the mainstay of the Christian church at that time and others were deemed heretical and buried with the past. This 2 hour piece on the National Geographic channel last night was quite a revelation which brought to the fore something I was totally unaware of. Very well done! The inevitability of change is in the world of form, "is constant."

I have deep love and respect for the Bahai Faith. I am a declared member but I am non-compliant non-active believer. I dropped out many years ago after my dissolutionment with living a religious life. It sucked my sense of wonderment with the Essence of All Things as being "obedient" was all pervasive versus the inspirational aspect that first drew me in, and the inspiration that was present in me prior to my enrollment. One thing I struggled with was this feeling that God was outside of me, even though the Bahai Writings say something like "behold Me standing within you" "I have put my light in you" etc.

Reading Eckharts work has brought me to a whole new understanding of the Bahai Writings. He has clarified the connection of what I know to be true, inherently true - the "I AM". He has breathed life into my comprehension of the Hidden Words. I look upon the Holy Writings with such RELIEF that they are what I always hoped they were but could not see - due to my own egoic self and that of the structure of the religious body I had come to no longer feel identified with. I have no desire to become "religious" again as I once was. What I am happy about is that Ekhart's teachings have re-opned the door to my willingness and desire to re-visit the words of Baha'u'llah and the other Holy Writings of the Faith. I feel like he described in a practical way what it really means to be a Bahai, which is essentially by my understanding becoming one who is Aware, present in all that entails. Because it is the eternal faith of God. I found nothing that Echart explained about our spirit and "being" in contrast to anything that ever resonated with me in my active days as a Bahai. It all harmonized beautifully. Now, it's a part of me not a part of my life situation. Eckhart has helped me put it all into practice - or realizing - getting out of my own way so to speak - in a way that feels like getting washed after wading in the mud for years. Thank you, Eckhart.